Antique thief hides in St. Petersburg store, takes $18,000 worth of items: Police

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Police are searching for a man described as having a "distinctive waddle" after he stole valuable items from Andrea and Friends Antique Mall, according to detectives.

St. Petersburg police are trying to identify the man who hid in the store located at 2400 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N.

Courtesy: St. Petersburg Police Department 

On Nov. 11, officials say the unidentified man waited until closing at 5 p.m. to burglarize the business. He was caught on surveillance entering the store, crawling on the floor and removing items from the display case, according to SPPD.

Detectives say the man took sterling silver plates, bowls, silverware, cups, and serving pieces, as well as vintage fountain pens, which all were worth $18,000.

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Officials describe the man as being white, somewhere around 55-65 years old, about 6 ft tall, heavy build, and bow-legged. According to police he also "walks with a distinctive waddle."

Courtesy: St. Petersburg Police Department 

The police department says he was last seen wearing black-rimmed glasses, a black baseball cap with a USF Bulls logo, tan cargo shorts, a white and gray plaid short-sleeve shirt, gray New Balance sneakers, and white socks.

Anyone with information about the thief is asked to call St. Petersburg police at 727-893-7780, or text SPPD + your tip to TIP411.